Antirotation device



April 30, 1968 w. w. NELSON ANTIROTATION DEVICE INVENT R. )M/l/c 071Filed May 18. 1966 vg/Zz/r 9 TraF/vEKs'.

United States Patent 3,381,257 ANTIROTATION DEVICE Wilbur W. Nelson,Pinckney, Mich., assignor to Chrysler Corporation, Highland Park, Mich.,a corporation of Delaware Filed May 18, 1966, Ser. No. 550,996 4 Claims.(Cl. 339-) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A device for connecting anelectrical wire to an automobile starter solenoid terminal adjacent theexhaust manifold of the automobile engine. The device includes aterminal surrounded by an insulating head having a surface which mateswith the solenoid surface and prevents such terminal and the electricalwire from being inadvertently rotated to a position wherein the Wirewould be damaged by the heat from the exhaust manifold.

This invention relates to electrical wire terminals, and moreparticularly to a device for preventing relative rotation between oneend of an electrical wire, such as an automobile battery cable, and aterminal on an electrical unit, such as a terminal on a starter solenoidof the automobile starting apparatus.

In an automobile, the wire or cable which connects the battery to thestarter coil usually is in close proximity to very hot engine parts,such as an exhaust manifold, for example. The cable is prevented fromcoming into contact with the hot engine by clips which secure the cablein a predetermined path away from the engine. Obviously, if the cablewere permitted to contact the hot engine, the insulation on the cablemight be burned or otherwise damaged, which, in turn, could causefurther damage to the automobile.

Moreover, when installing the terminal end of a battery wire or cable onthe terminal of a starter solenoid, care must be exercised to attach theconnector on the end of the wire to the solenoid terminal so that thewire, after the connector is secured to the solenoid terminal, extendsaway from the solenoid in the proper direction, i.e., in a directionaway from the exhaust manifold for example. This operation requires acertain amount of dexterity and time, which are important factors inassembly line manufacturing operations. Furthermore, it is necessarythat the connection between the connector on the wire and the solenoidterminal be secure to pre vent the cable from working loose andcontacting the engine.

Accordingly, one of the principal objects of this invention is aprovision of a device for preventing relative rotation between one endof an electric Wire, such as a battery cable, and a terminal on anelectric unit, such as a starter solenoid, thereby decreasing thepossibility that the cable might work loose from the starter solenoid.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a device such asdescribed for orienting and guiding a wire or cable away from anelectric unit to which the cable is connected.

Still another object of this invention is a device of the classdescribed, the use of which eliminates the need for certain retainingclips for holding the cable away from a hot engine.

Another object of this invention is the provision of a device whichfacilitates attachment of the terminal and a battery cable terminal to aterminal on starter solenoid of an internal combustion engine.

A further object of this invention is a provision of a device forpreventing relative rotation between the terminal end of an electricwire and a terminal of an electric unit to which it is attachable, thedevice being relatively simple and economical in construction, yeteffective in operation.

Other objects of the invention will be apparent as the descriptionproceeds.

Two embodiments of the invention are illustrated in the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective view of certain parts of aninternal combustion engine with one embodiment of the device of thisinvention incorporated therein;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged section taken along line 22 of FIG. 1;

FIGURE 3 is a section taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIGURE 4 is an enlarged perspective view of the device illustrated inFIGS. 1 to 3;

FIGURE 5 is a view similar to FIG. 1 illustrating a different internalcombustion engine having a second embodiment of the device of thisinvention incorporated therein;

FIGURE 6 is an enlarged section taken along line 6-6 of FIG. 5;

FIGURE 7 is a section taken along line 7-7 of FIG. 6; and 1 FIGURE 8 isan enlarged perspective view of an embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 through7.

Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding partsthroughout the several views of the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings, one embodiment of a device 1 of thisinvention is shown in FIG. 1 as being connected to a starter solenoid 3for a starter 5. An internal combustion engine is indicated at 7 and anexhaust manifold for the engine 7 is indicated at 9.

The device 1 is connected to a'cable 11, the distal end of which isattached to a battery (not shown). The end of the cable 11 to whichdevice 1'is attached is connected to a terminal 13 of solenoid 3. Theterminal end of the cable 11 includes a metal connector 15 attached tothe ends of metallic conducting elements 17. Insulated material 19, suchas rubber, for example, surrounds elements 17.

The device 1 of this invention comprises an enlarged head 21, whichsurrounds and grips both the connector 15 and the end of the insulatingmaterial 19. The head 21 is formed of a relatively rigid insulating ornon-conducting material, such as hard rubber or a plastic, andpreferably is molded directly onto the connector 15 and wire 11. Thegrip exerted on connector 15 and wire 11 is suflicien-t to act as arigid sleeve or splint for the joined members 11 and 15, thus assuringthe alignment of these members and the direction in which member 11initially extends.

Head 21 is provided with a surface portion 23 which mates with anadjacent surface portion 25 of the solenoid 3. This mating feature bythe surfaces 23 and 25 assures that the end of wire 11 cannot be rotatedabout terminal 13 after connector 15 has been securely fastened thereto.

With the above described device, it will be seen that not only is theterminal end of wire 11 prevented from rotating on terminal 13, but alsothe wire 11 is guided away from the terminal 13 in a predetermineddirection. The wire 11 may thus be directed away from any hot parts ofthe engine, such as exhaust manifold 9, by properly positioning themating surfaces 23 and 25. Since the wire 11 cannot be inadvertentlyplaced in juxtaposition with the exhaust manifold 9, the possibilitiesof insulation fire or other damage to the wire are substantiallyreduced. Moreover, it will be seen that a workman in an assembly lineconnecting the terminal end of wire 11 to terminal 13 only has to slipthe connector 15 over terminal 13 and place surfaces 23 and 25 togetherto properly orientate the wire 11 with respect to other parts of theengine.

A second embodiment of the device of this invention is indicated at 1ain FIGS. 5-8. Device 1a is generally similar to device 1 except that themating surface 23a is of a slightly different shape and is located in aslightly different position relative to connector 15. The reason forthese differences is that the engine with which device 1a is associatedis constructed differently than engine 7. It will be noted that theexhaust manifold 9a shown in FIG. 5 is different than the manifold 9shown in FIG. 1. Thus, the device 1a is provided with a surface whichwill guide the wire 11 away from manifold 9a.

In view of the foregoing, it will be seen that a device of thisinvention not only prevents rotation of the terminal end thereofrelative to a terminal, and additionally guides the cable away from hotparts of the engine, but it also performs these functions withoutcomplexity. Additionally, the device may be quickly and easily installedon the wire, and when so installed facilitates the operation ofconnecting the wire 11 to terminal 13.

The particulars of the foregoing description are provided merely forpurposes of illustration and are subject to considerable latitude ofmodification without departing from the novel teachings disclosedherein. Accordingly, the scope of this invention is intended to belimited only as defined in the appended claims and equivalents thereof.

I claim:

1. A device for connecting an electrical wire to a first terminal onelectrical starting apparatus of an internal combustion engine with thewire being guided away from an engine part which is located adjacent thestarting apparatus and which becomes hot during operation of the engine,said device comprising a second terminal connected to the end of thewire, said second terminal having an opening therein which adapts saidsecond terminal to generally mate with the first terminal and whichwould normally permit said second terminal to rotate relative to thefirst terminal to allow said wire to rotate toward the engine part, andguide means surrounding a portion of said second terminal and having onesurface thereon adapted to abut and generally mate with a surface on theelectrical starting apparatus to prevent rotation of said secondterminal relative to the first terminal and to guide the wire away fromthe engine part.

2. A device as set forth in claim 1 wherein said guide means comprises anon-conducting molded body surrounding and splinting said secondterminal and the electrical wire together, said surface on said guidemeans being curved for mating with the surface on the electricalstarting apparatus.

3. A device for connecting an electrical wire to a first terminal onelectrical starting apparatus of an internal combustion engine with thewire being guided away from an engine part located adjacent the startingapparatus and which becomes hot during operation of the engine, saiddevice comprising a second terminal having a shape which permitsconnection thereof to the first terminal and which normally permits saidsecond terminal to be oriented to a position wherein the wire isimproperly located adjacent the engine part, and abutment meanssurrounding said second terminal and having one surface thereon adaptedto abut a surface on the electrical starting apparatus to preventrotation of said second terminal relative to the first terminal and toguide the wire away from the engine part.

4. A device as set forth in claim 3 wherein said abutment meanscomprises a relatively rigid body molded on said second terminal, themating surfaces of said abutment means and said electrical startingapparatus being curved.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,292,716 1/1919 Cox 339-292,145,744 1/1939 Whitney 339198 X 2,272,432 2/1942 'Rogie 339-1862,533,200 12/1950 Rogoff 339-223 2,788,386 4/1957 McCarty 339126 X3,104,658 9/196-3 Olsen 123-148 RICHARD E. MOORE, Primary Examiner.

